Lots of advice needed - Considering first cruise (have 2 young children)

[junebaby07]

We've never been on a cruise before but are considering one for the 2nd half of March 2011 while my daughter is on spring break from preschool. Our oldest will be almost 4 and our youngest will be about 18 months.

 

We've never been on a cruise before, but my husband and I travelled extensively before having children - hawaii, greece, france, italy, ireland, bahamas, england, ireland, etc. We really appreciate good food and nice accomodations.

 

Since having children we've done Hilton Head and Disney World. My daughter loved disney, but it wasn't a super relaxing vacation for us.

 

1. What cruise line would you recommend w/ kids? Any specific ships to look at?

 

2. How do you get the most space for your price? Our kids go to bed really early - like 7:30 and do best if we maintain their routine on vacation. My husband and I reall appreciate having some separate space of our own - we did a 1 bedroom condo at Disney and it was great. Should we try to get a suite or 2 adjoining rooms? Since we have to pay for the kids anyway, what is the best way to go?

 

3. How do you get the best deals / prices? Should you wait for a certain time to book?

 

4. While we'd love to do a European cruise, I think we'd limit ourselves to a cruise that leaves from a port that is an easy plane ride from the mid-west. If we did a Caribbean Cruise are there any specific ports or excursions that are particularly young kid friendly?

 

Thanks so much!

[Asil65]

The first cruise our kids went on was a Disney Cruise on the Wonder. Our kids were a bit older 4 and 6. They loved it. We only did a 3 day cruise it was way to short. Do at least a 7 day cruise whichever line you pick. I think that kids need to be 2 to go into the kids programs on most ships. The kids club was great. It is a really easy way for my kids to see the characters too. I forgot which room we booked but we had a lot of space for the 4 of us. It was so much more relaxing than our time at the theme park. I totally know what you mean about Disney. It is exhausting. Great service, great space in rooms, great fun for the kids and the food was good too. The Disney cruises always seem to be privced higher than others. I think for a first cruise wityh kids it will be a good choice.

[ourfamilylovescruising]

we have cruised alot with our kids. it really is the vacation that you can take as a family and still have one on one time with your spose. Carnival has a great kids camp but your youngest needs to be 2 we did get our youngest in the camp program when she was too young but she was big for her age and potty trained and acted older being the youngest of 4 I think that help. I wouldnt do a shorter cruise with Carnival too many partiers but 7 day cruises dont seem to have as many. good luck

[cb at sea]

I would do connecting rooms, if you want space and privacy. The LEAST I would get is a balcony room, so that you and hubby have a place "to be" while the kids are sleeping!

Ship cabins aren't really like hotel rooms (at least, not "nice" hotels!), until you get into the "suite" catagories....Carnival has some of the larger cabins, RCI has some of the smallest!

[Tggrtoes]

Agree - get a balcony at least and/or connecting rooms. (We only have one DS, so that's not been an issue, although we usually do a mini-suite so we have room to groove and always do a balcony... it's a must for us.)

 

Since your youngest will not be old enough for a kids program, I would suggest using a line that has in-room babysitting. RCI has this I know... Disney does babysitting for younger ones, but they have to be in their nursery. With your kids going to bed so early, that might be an issue (it was one of my issues anyway).

 

We've had good success have my in-laws come on cruises too. Nice getaway for everyone and it provides good mix of alone and group time. So, if you you can swing that, it's great.

 

I think Celebrity does good babysitting and Costa maybe too? (I don't know much about them).

[lolakat]

We have a 2.5 year old and we've been cruising with her since she was 6 months. IMO it is a fairly easy way to vacation with young kids. You will find lots of good info buy searching this board but I will try to get you started.

 

1. All mass market cruise lines have some type of kids program but they vary in the ages they will accept, if they need to be potty trained and the diversity of activities offered. I'll give you some of my opinions but everyone has their own.

Disney is a great choice if you can afford it. Their kids camp starts at 3 but they have flounder's nursery where you can have babysitting (for a fee) for kids 6mo and up. Also kids under 2 don't pay a fare on this line. (But the rest of the fares are so high you won't notice). Disney has a splash pool for non-potty trained kids. (Kids must be potty trained to go in all regular pools on cruise ships)

Royal Caribbean has tons for kids to do. THey have a very popular kids program that starts at age 3 and potty trained. Some of their new ships have a non-potty trained splash area. The newest ship, the oasis, has a nursery for fee-based babysitting. Other ships have in room babysitting, for a fee.

Carnival is also popular with families and is a less expensive option. Their kids club starts at age 2 and they do not have to be potty trained. They do have some off hour group baby sitting in the kids club for younger children.

We like NCL b/c I think the freestyle atmostphere works well with little ones. The kid's clus starts at 2 yo and they can be in diapers but they will call you to change them if needed. They do not have a baby splash area. There is no underaged babysitting option. Under 2 does not pay a fare.

 

2. If you can afford a suite get one. It is great to have an extra room to relax and watch tv after the kids are asleep. We are addicted to the courtyard villas on NCL. Not only is there a seperate room for our DD but we can hang in the private pool area right outside our door. If suites are too much then go with a balcony. You can sit out there and relax after bed time.

 

3. Best deals. I am a believer in early booking then watch carefully for a price drop. You can usually call and get the lower price if you are before final payment. Sometimes there are deals out there like kids sail free etc etc.

 

4. This is sort of a subjective question. We like low key relaxing cruise vacations. Since our DD has been too young to know better we have stayed on the boat at a lot of ports. I actually like the florida/Bahamas cruises since DD is around. The on island transportation seems a little safer to me. We have done beach days and taken her to amusement parks in Orlando. This time around we are doing 2 beach days and a trip to Sea World. Once she is 5 or 6 we will head to Alaska and Europe but that sounds like too much work right now. :)

 

Good luck and have fun planning!

[koalagurl]

For those ages, I would recommend Disney.

 

We went when my kids were just over 3 and 20 months. My 3 year old loved the kids club, and my 20 month old loved Flounders nursery. We got adjoining balcony rooms, and while it was expensive, it was totally worth it to be able to have our own vacation. My kids are very much the type to do best when on a schedule, but they actually did very well on the cruise going off schedule (it helped to travel east on the cruise for up to a 2 hour time change...they could stay up later!)

 

I don't think there is anything "wrong" with in cabin babysitting, but personally just prefer the nursery set up. And in the flounders nursery, there were a few cribs in the back for nighttime and naps.

 

And as other posters have mentioned, look for a pool / splash area that the child in diapers can use to avoid that disappointment (though I have read that some take an inflatable pool for those in diapers to splash around in.)

 

Soon we will be going on a Royal Caribbean cruise with the kids, so I can add info from that (though the kids are both old enough for the kids club now.)

[javma]

We just returned from a week on RCI Oasis of the Seas with our 3 kids--ages 6, 3 and 11 months. Hands down the best cruise I have ever taken. I would 110% recommend this for your family; we loved the cruise so much we rebooked for February 2011. I am not at all worried about it feeling like a "repeat" as the ship has so much going on we didn't even experience half of it during the first trip.

 

See my post here: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1188689 for more details.

[CariBear]

I would probably choose a cruise line that has a nursery in case you and your husband would like some alone time. My daughter was 3 when she went on her 1st cruise and she had a blast, but this was with Princess where the kid's clubs are small in numbers and she had a lot of personalized attention. 3 months later we went on Disney and she would not let us leave her in the kid's club because it was way too overwhelming for her...tons of kids and not as much 1 on 1 attention as on Princess. That being said she had been at home with me since birth and was not used to a daycare setting. If your children are in daycare then I think they might not be as overwhelmed.

 

I would look into the new Disney Dream or RCCL Oasis as they both have nurseries for your little one ( or another ship with a nursery). Disney ships also have bathtubs in all room catagories rather than showers which are great for the kids.

 

I'm not much help on the room situation as we are used to rooming with the kids on vacations....close quarters, but always fun trips!

[junebaby07]

so I've been comparing the prices for Oasis vs. Disney Magic in March of 2011 and they are relatively similar. I think we may try to do Disney b/c my 3 year old would be in heaven and honestly her little sister would love it too.

 

I think we will try to book two adjoining rooms since it actually isnt' that much more than putting 4 people in 1 room. Might try to do an connecting inside staterooms to save a little money. Any tips on which are best esp w/ kids? Quieter areas probably better for nappers and early to bed kids.

[imsulin]

Another thing to consider is the fact that many lines will not allow a non-potty trained child to use ANY of the ship's pools. Disney does have a special pool for them on their ships as well as the RCI Oasis/Allure and their Freedom class ships. This is really something to consider if you're cruising the Caribbean in late March. The weather is generally very good, on the warm side, and pools and beaches are almost a "must" for kids. The "nursery" factor is also a strong consideration for your 18-month old, as well as activities for your four year old. Disney and Oasis/Allure offer the nursery service. One thing Disney offers, that other lines do not, is "rotating dining". Normally, you are assigned to a certain table in the Main Dining Room at the same time each night, with the same wait staff. On Disney, you eat in one dining room one night, another dining room the next night, and another dining room on the third night, and then the rotation is repeated. Your wait staff follows you, so they know who you are, and what you like. Disney also has bath tubs in every cabin, which could be an issue if your kids don't like showers. RCI's Oasis probably has much more to offer for kids in terms of activities, though. If this is your first cruise for yourself, and with kids that young, you might want to consider a shorter cruise just to see how it all pans out for you. Ship's cabins are MUCH smaller than the standard hotel/motel rooms, and space is "compact". Both lines have "specialty" restaurants for which you pay extra, and don't think young kids are allowed. Poster cruisinmama06 (Michele) is VERY good at posting all kinds of pictures, and can give you more information than I can. Whatever ship you choose, hope you have a great time!

[bbcruiser]

We cruised the NCL Star in a Penthouse Suite about 3 years ago with a 7 month old and 3 y.o. The kids clubs start at age 2, so only the 3 y.o. could go. The nice thing about the Penthouse suites on the NCL Star is there is a wood sliding door that separates the main bedroom from the living area (where we kept the crib for our 7 month old). She could nap and we could hang out in our area without disturbing her. Our 3 y.o. slept in his own separate children's bedroom (has a fold out double sofa bed) which also has a small bathroom. When we checked the NCL Pearl last year, their Penthouse suites only had a curtain instead of a sliding door. When our butler saw we had 2 young kids, she always brought kid-friendly snacks for them in the afternoon.

 

It's a bit pricey, but the space and privacy were worth it for us. We've checked out prices for DCL and the price of a deluxe verandah (no separate childrens bedroom) cost more than the Penthouse on the Star (we were looking at Alaska cruise fares for 2011).

[Leo1974]

We just returned from a week on RCI Oasis of the Seas with our 3 kids--ages 6, 3 and 11 months. Hands down the best cruise I have ever taken. I would 110% recommend this for your family; we loved the cruise so much we rebooked for February 2011. I am not at all worried about it feeling like a "repeat" as the ship has so much going on we didn't even experience half of it during the first trip.

 

See my post here: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1188689 for more details.

 

Hello Javma your review is so helpful.We are travelling from India for RCL Majesty , sailing 31st May 2010.We have kids 3.5yr old boy and about 8 months old daughter. I was much worried as we are going on a cruise for the first time and have young kids .Your review is definitely helping my thoughts and I hope majesty also has good prorammes for kids like the Oasis . Me and my husband hope to spend some good adult time too.

Looking forward for the cruise !!!